Week 26

Do I look as tired as I feel?

How far along?  26 weeks

Baby is the size of:  An eggplant (or a head of iceberg lettuce).  I couldn't find an eggplant big enough since they're not in season right now.  So just imagine him a little wider and longer. 13.5 or so inches long and around 2.5 pounds!

Maternity clothes?  Even the stretchy panels on my maternity bottoms feel tight on my belly sometimes... sigh.

Rings on or off?  Still on! Yes!!

Sleep: Sadly, not much.  Sleeping on my left side is easier now, but I still struggle with some numbness and tingly-ness in my leg when I stay in that position very long.  Lots of tightness in my neck and shoulders... which means I'm asking for back rubs ALL the time.  Thanks, honey...

Belly Button:  Not innie or outie right now... kind of just level with the rest of my tummy.  On the up side, it's easier to clean it now. :-)

Exercise: I'm looking into working swimming into my routine as soon as it gets a little warmer.  This week, I did pilates for 3 days and walked on the treadmill 2 days.  I'm finding it more difficult to do stairs these days, but I try to make an effort to take the stairs to my office at least twice a day (we walk back and forth to work twice a day and I work on the 4th floor).

Biggest eggplant I could find...

Food cravings:  Chocolate, Marshmallow Fluff (marshmallow creme), and Dijon mustard.  Just not at the same time.  Ew.  I read somewhere that eating enough healthy fats help satiate you and diminishes sugar cravings.  I tried upping my healthy fat intake this week and it really did help with the sugar cravings!!  Although I've been craving chocolate, I find myself preferring dark chocolate, up to 80% cacao, over milk chocolate, which is too sweet for me. 

Movement: I'm definitely noticing cycles.  He'll get really quiet for a couple of hours, then bounce around a whole lot for a couple of hours, then get quiet again.  I wonder if he's wearing himself out, then taking a nap.  This week, he kicked my ribs for the first time. Up til now, he's been sitting in a breech position and kicking me down low.  We're not too concerned about his position yet, since I still have more than 10 weeks left to go, but it was encouraging to feel that he's practicing flipping over into a vertex position (head down). 

Best moment of the week: Registering for my shower.  M had fun "shooting" things with the scanning gun.  My only beef with Target is the scarcity of "green" options and the very small selection of classic children's books.  I was very surprised that they didn't have any classic Little Golden Books, just 2 or 3 adaptations of current Disney movies.  Sadness! No Poky Little Puppy or Scrawny Tawny Lion!  They did at least have Curious George, though.

Fun fact:  He has eyelashes now! 

Symptoms:  Achy side muscles and neck/back/shoulder tension.

Mood?  Roller coaster... Sometimes irritated, sometimes down, sometimes excited.  

Blessings of the week: I'll be sharing this in a future post, but just want to say it was encouraging this week to define my "sweet spot" (the type of work/service God has created me for).  What a blessing to know that He designed me for a specific purpose and I can see now more of what that purpose is.  It is freeing to realize that I don't feel like I fit where I am right now, not because I'm a failure, but because I'm not supposed to fit here long term.  This phase in my life (the past 6 years) has been beneficial and I have learned a great deal, but it was only ever a passing phase - a stepping stone - to what I'm really created to do.